Dutch CRE Market Grows Increasingly Vibrant

Investment activity for the first three quarters of this year is up 5.6 percent over last year. The country is benefiting from the migration of companies from the U.K. ahead of Brexit, according to law firm Greenberg Traurig, which assisted with two major deals in the Netherlands earlier this year.

On a per capita basis, the Dutch real estate market “has been one of the most active in Europe,” according to Eric Rosedale, head of international real estate practice development at powerhouse international law firm Greenberg Traurig. The firm was heavily involved in two major transactions in the Netherlands earlier this year.

“The Netherlands is a country perceived by cross-border investors as a stable political and economic destination for their capital with exceptional infrastructure, financial services, quality of life, and proximity to other major European capital cities,” Rosedale said in a prepared statement released Friday. “To some extent, it also benefits from the migration of companies from the U.K. ahead of Brexit.”

Dutch CRE investment activity for the first three quarters of this year is up 5.6 percent over last year, according to Greenberg Traurig. The office sector has seen nearly half of that investment (48.1 percent), with industrial and retail being the next most popular product types.

Overseas investors continue to increase their exposure to Dutch real estate, Greenberg Traurig said, such that it’s estimated that cross-border investment into the Netherlands will comprise about 65 percent of the total investment volume there.

Major deals

In April, in the largest-ever transaction involving a Dutch office property, Icon Real Estate sold the Atrium complex in Amsterdam’s Zuidas (South Axis) business district to a consortium of French and South Korean investors led by funds managed by Amundi Real Estate. More than 20 Greenberg Traurig attorneys from the Amsterdam, London and Seoul offices assisted with the complex transaction, as well as with the corporate and tax structuring and senior financing.

“The New Atrium transaction also highlights the growing role of South Korean investors in European property,” Greenberg Traurig said. “In the past few years, South Korean capital has flowed into the U.K., Dutch, French, Belgian, and German markets.”

And in late July, Dream Global REIT, of Toronto, completed the acquisition of a portfolio of 135 office and light industrial properties in the Netherlands. The transaction, which reportedly was worth €620 million (nearly $824 million), was supported by more than 15 Greenberg Traurig attorneys in the Netherlands, Germany and the U.S.